Safari for Windows, Safari for Mac, iPhone Apps, WWDC Keynote Clarifications, and More

Safari 3 for Windows: Opinions, apparently, are like Web browsers: Everybody's got one. That's certainly the case only two days after Apple announced that it would offer a Windows version of Safari. Execs from the competition - Mozilla (Firefox) and Microsoft (Internet Exporer) - weighed in with their opinions, with Mozilla's VP of engineering, Mike Schroepfer, welcoming Apple into the PC browser wars and a lower-level Microsoft functionary, Kevin Kutz, being a wee bit snippy, saying only that he was "glad our customers have a choice in browsers." Over at Wired, long-time Mac observer Leander Kahney was less circumspect, first asking "Who in Their Right Mind Would Run Safari on Windows?" and summing up his opinion of Apple's browser with a succinct "Safari sucks." My, my... Another Wired blogger suggests that Safari offers Windows users "No Compelling Reason to Switch," while one financial analyst is of the opinion that Safari for Windows could "could generate billions for Apple." True to their both-feet-on-the-ground tradition, the gearheads at Ars Technica stuck to the facts, offering a side-by-side comparison of the Safari 3 Windows beta with Firefox 2 and Internet Explorer 2. Odd little problems with Safari 3 for Windows have begun to crop up, as well. For example, The Register's Jan Libbenga has discovered that the beta has trouble displaying bold fonts. Not having a Windows box on our desks here at MacLife.com, we can't test his claims, but ... hey, it's a beta.

iPhone app-development woes: The chorus of complaints from developers about the lack of a true SDK (software development kit) for the iPhone are getting louder. John Gruber of Daring Fireball may have said it best when he put words into the mouth of a ficticious Apple spokesmodel, having he/she/it say "you can write great apps for the iPhone: they're called 'web sites'." John's own words are a bit, shall we say, more earthy: "If all you have to offer is a shit sandwich, just say it. Don't tell us how lucky we are and that it's going to taste delicious." My, my (take two)... The limited app-development opportunities for the iPhone haven't stopped all developers from trying their hands, though - some are already giving it a crack, including one slick little grocery-shopping app. The consensus, however, seems to echo the title of an article over on Gizmodo: "No iPhone SDK Means No Killer iPhone Apps. Sigh...

No iPhone keyboard? So...? Speaking of iPhone grousing, John Markoff points out the obvious when he notes that the iPhone is missing a keyboard, but he calls the omission of a physical keypad "a billion-dollar gamble." He's not alone in his concern, even though others extol the touch-screen keyboard. What's you opinion? If you have one - without, of course, ever having actually touched the %$#@!ing thing - ZDNet wants to know.

Keynote clarifications: Jobs's keynote presentation, as usual, raised nearly as many questions as it answered - and now some clarifications are emerging. For one, the rumored ability of Boot Camp to support the ability to switch from Mac OS X to Windows without rebooting - aka "Sleep Camp" - ain't happening. The status of the inclusion of the ZFS file system is a bit murkier. Apparently it will be part of Leopard, but an optional part. (There's also news of an Apple patent that could "make HFS to ZFS file systems conversions painless.") Remember the exciting news about Electronic Arts making some of its more popular games Mac OS X compatible? Well, it seems that those games will not be truly OS X native, but, instead, ported over to OS X using TransGaming's Cider technology - not a bad solution, but not the best of all possible worlds, either. Finally, not mentioned during the keynote but mentioned in an Apple missive is the fact that if you want to get You Tube support and other services on your iPhone, you're going to need an iTunes account.